Why are you a member
of the church? Possibly many factors contributed to that. Many are members
of their churches because they simply followed parents. Is that true with
you?

Parents are supposed to teach children God's way. Fortunate is
that person whose parents taught him God's truth. But are we members
simply because we look to them? Hopefully that is not the case.

Nobody ought to be a member simply because of somebody else
other than Christ. Doubtless many convictions were learned from others,
but we must come to know truth by our own investigation of Scripture. At
first many things I came to believe just like my parents did because of
them, but I am not aware of one thing I believe now simply because they
did. It is not that we differ, but that I have learned for myself what the
truth is.

When others who have taught us believe a certain thing and we
also believe it, it is not because they believe it that we believe
it but because they taught us to search the Scriptures. When you believe
the truth and I believe the truth we both will believe the truth because
it is the truth; not because of someone else.